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Side Effects
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Side Effects is a take-that card game that combines a heap of cunning, a dash of luck, and fistfuls of vengeance. Each player is dealt a series of mental disorders face up in front of them, your goal is to be the first one to completely treat yourself using drug or therapy cards. But be warned! Every time a drug card is used to treat a disorder, it leaves the user open to a variety of side effects (more disorders) that other players can now give! In order to find the drugs you desperately need and avoid the dreaded You’re Having An Episode card, you’ll need to bluff, bargain, and betray. Beautifully illustrated in the style of a vintage medical textbook, Side Effects brings hilarity and hysteria to any gathering.
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Description
Drug use, personal demons, wild episodes, and more. Side Effects is a "take that" card game where players race to treat all the diseases in their psyche with medication and therapy.
Players start with four disease cards dealt face up in front of them (their "psyche") and then four cards in a concealed hand. Players take turns picking up cards from the deck and trying to find the right drugs to treat their diseases. A drug card will treat a disease but also leave the player open to receiving new diseases (of that drug's list of side effects) from other players.
Each disease card has a unique punishment written on it and episode cards will trigger these punishments. Play an episode card on another player to hinder them or help yourself.
The game is over when one player treats all of the diseases in their psyche.
Player Count: 2-8
Time: 10-30 Minutes
Age: 13+
Side Effects helps highlight that anyone can be suffering from mental health issues, it is respectful of the topic at hand, and although it is good fun to play and brings plenty of laughs, it is the ‘take that’ mechanics that bring the laughs, not the theme it presents. I wanted to make that perfectly clear from the start, as mental health is not something to be made into a cheap joke.
I myself suffer from several of the mental health issues present in this game (I will let you guess which ones). This makes the game more personal to me and allows me to bring attention to them in a fun setting with friends who also suffer.
So, with that in mind, did Side Effects bring delight to my troubled mind, or did it highlight a deep desire for help? Let me take my handful of medication and I shall tell you all about it…
“Mental Pain Is Less Dramatic Than Physical Pain, But It Is More Common And Also More Hard To Bear.” C.S. Lewis, The Problem Of Pain.
Side effects is a really small game. One thing I have learned about board games is that the smaller a game is, the bigger a punch it needs to make in order to stand out. I think this game delivers on that. Theme is really important in the smaller games. Most people will argue against that and tell you that you can slap any theme on a small game and it would work the same. And they are right, but the game wouldn’t feel the same.
I have never come across another game where mental health is the main focus of the theme. Whether it is because it is so obscure that not many have thought of it, or it is a topic most have tried to avoid, the theme is unarguably unique.
The objective of the game is to cure yourself of all your ailments whilst trying to avoid opening yourself up to new ailments. When you cure yourself of a health problem with the required medication, the side effects of that medication can cause other health problems. This is when your opponents can inflict your psyche with more issues to deal with.
There are only 4 different types of cards to learn how to use: disorders, drugs, episodes, and therapy. Each being pretty self-explanatory. Drugs treat the matching disorder, episodes trigger effects on the opponents and therapy is a trump card that cures most disorders.
“Man Is Not Worried By Real Problems So Much As By His Imagined Anxieties About Real Problems” Epictetus.
There are 8 different disorders in the game: madness, suicidal thoughts, depression, tremors, gambling addiction, anxiety, impotence, and anorexia.
You start with 4 of these randomly in your psyche (face up in front of you) that you have to cure. Rushing to treat them does not usually go in your favour, however. Side Effects is less of a race to finish and more of a tactical reconnaissance mission to gauge your opponents’ strategies. If you cure your tremors on the first turn, for example, this leaves you open to gambling addiction, depression and madness. If you are playing with 4 players, you could end up with all 3 of these by the time your turn comes back around.
Leaving yourself untreated is also a risk however as each disorder has its own thematical episode. Taking tremors again as an example, if you have that untreated in front of you, an opponent can inflict an episode on you which causes you to discard 3 cards in 3 seconds or discard your entire hand.
Luck Vs Tactics
As the game revolves around you having 4 randomly assigned disorders at the start, and collectively drawing your hand from a shared deck, there is a lot of luck needed in this game.
Some disorders are harder to treat than others. Anorexia for example can only be cured with therapy, whereas tremors can not be cured with therapy. This makes thematical sense, but if you start with these two cards, then you are starting the game at a disadvantage.
Tactics are a part of the game too but they are only formulated from what you happen to draw from the deck. You are also allowed to bargain with other opponents which help with your tactics. “If you cure my depression, then I will give Markus gambling addiction” for example. This obviously does not work in a 2-player game though.
The bargaining can be a great mechanic to make the game more interesting too. In the last game I played, my friend said to me at the start of my turn “If you cure my impotence, then I won’t give you an episode on my turn”. I promptly pointed out that that was not a bargain, but simply blackmail, and cured a different player of impotence instead out of spite. Needless to say, I did not win that game.
Components
The artwork on this game is what caught my attention the most. I would likely have never given Side Effects a second glance if it wasn’t for the amazing artwork. The artwork on each of the disorders is great and really thematic. All of the disorders have their information facing both directions so that you and your opponents can easily read them. The cards themselves are tarot sized, linen finished with minimal reading needed.
The rulebook is presented in an extremely old-fashioned prescription booklet which is just a superb little attention to detail. It is easy to read through, making the game just as easy to teach. With basic rules and basic strategies at the back, and a quick reference game key, it’s a very useful and well put together rulebook.
That is everything you get in the box. Some tarot cards, and a small booklet. No more, no less.
Final Thoughts
Side Effects is a very thematical game. The card episodes tie in very well with the disorder they are representing. The game itself does not make light of what is actually quite a deep theme. It represents mental health well and opens up a friendly atmosphere in which to discuss them.
The game itself is incredibly light and you can easily get a couple of games in within half an hour. I really do recommend this game if you are a fan of smaller, ‘take that’ style games and are looking for something with a different feel. Side effects is definitely a unique choice.
So, you have given into madness and took a gamble on Side Effects and now you are curious as to how to play this unique little card game? The interns are ready to hold you down to spoon feed you your medicine, then let me teach you how to play this simple game.
The aim of the game is to be the first player to cure yourself of all the disorders in your psyche. That is all.
Set-Up
Being a small game consisting of nothing more than a deck of cards, set up is a simple process.
Separate all the disorder cards from the rest, shuffle, and deal everyone 4 disorders. If anyone ends up with multiple of the same disorder, then they are dealt new disorders until they have 4 different ones. This is because your ‘psyche’ can not hold more than one of each disorder.
Your ‘psyche’ refers to the cards you have in front of you. All cards played are placed face up.
Then shuffle the remaining disorder cards into the rest of the cards and deal out 4 face-down cards to each player. This is their starting hand. The rest of the cards get placed in the middle to form a draw deck.
The process is exactly the same for 2-5 players. For 6-8 players, everyone is only dealt 3 disorders instead.
Turn Structure…
According to the rules, the player who most recently had a nightmare goes first, and play continues in a clockwise fashion. This is just a silly abstract way of determining though. I am sure every game group has a pre-determined way to decide the start player.
The game plays in 3 simple phases. Draw, play, end.
You start your turn by drawing 2 cards, which brings you up to 6 cards if it is your first turn. You can play up to 2 cards on your turn. This means that you can choose not to play any card if you do not wish to.
If you have more than 6 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, then you need to discard back down to 6 before the next player starts their turn. That is all there is to the turn structure. There are no counter cards or anything of the ilk, so whatever you choose to play (or not to play) cannot be stopped, but the same is true for your opponents. It all comes down to timing and strategy.
Card Types:
There are 4 different card types you can possibly have in your hand.
- Disorder cards are the ones that you have face-up in your psyche, they can be used on your opponents when they are open for them.
- Drug cards let you heal specific disorders in your psyche. There is only ever one type of drug for each disorder. These are played on top of disorder cards to treat them, but it leaves you open for other disorders to be played on you as side effects.
- Episode cards are played on your opponents’ disorders that are NOT being treated with drugs. This triggers an ‘episode’ and forces them to do a variety of actions. Each disorder has their own triggered ability, and you get to choose which one to place the card on.
- Therapy cards are a trump card that allows you to treat any disorder in your psyche. When you play this card, however, the disorder you chose to treat leaves your psyche (along with the therapy card) and goes into the discard pile. This will open you up to be afflicted with that disorder again.
Worthy Notes:
- Anorexia can ONLY be cured with therapy as there is no drug for it.
- Tremors is immune to therapy cards. This is because it is a physical condition and not a mental one.
- A psyche can never hold more than 1 of each type of disorder, including ones that are under drug treatment.
- The disorder cards show the trigger ability both facing you and your opponents, and the drug cards show what side effects they open up in the same fashion. All the information you will need will be in front of you at all times.
Bargaining…
This can only really be implemented with higher player counts. If you are playing a 2-player game, the option is still there for you. The chance of getting a successful bargain is slim to none, for obvious reasons.
There are 3 rules you must keep in mind during bargaining:
- No matter what bargain is made, you can not play more than 2 cards per turn.
- You can not play any card if it is not your turn.
- You can give and receive cards no matter who’s turn it currently is, but you can not play them unless it is your turn.
House Rules…
The player guide mentions that you are free to use house rules if you wish, such as having more than 1 of each disorder in your psyche at any time or using drugs to treat other people’s disorders (which is not something you can usually do). The game is simple enough for you to get a little flexible and find a rhythm that suits your group the most. I find some of these rules to be more engaging, especially during negotiations. “I will cure your tremors if you use your episode card on Markus and not me”, things like this make the game more light-hearted.
Things to Keep in Mind…
Side Effects is a simple little card game with interestingly simple mechanics at hand. That being said, there are still a few things to keep in mind that can give you a tactical upper hand.
- There are a few episode triggers that allow you to steal cards from another player’s hand. Use that wisely if you think they have the drug you need. But also, be wary of your own disorders, they may be able to do the same thing to you.
- Be extra mindful of keeping ‘Madness’ exposed in your psyche. If someone triggers an episode on that, they essentially reset the game for you.
- Think a few turns ahead, but not too far. There are a lot of ways you can be forced to discard cards, give cards away etc. Holding onto all your drug cards is not usually the safest option.
- Keep an eye on what drugs your opponents need. If playing in groups, offering a trade if you can cure them of an ailment may just work to your advantage. If they can cure one of yours.
- Remember that if you offer a bargain to someone, you do not have to keep your side of the deal. And they might not hold true to their promise either!
And that is all you need to know in order to play Side Effects. Hopefully, you found this guide useful. Stay tuned for more How to Play content!
Zatu Score
You might like
- Easy to play and teach.
- Unique theme.
- Amazing artwork.
- Thematical gameplay.
Might not like
- Take that style of game.
- The theme is definitely not for everyone.
- Plays better with higher player counts than smaller ones.